Rotatable drum and drain valve therefor



R. E. QUINN ETAL 3,349,582 ROTATABLE DRUM AND DRAIN V ALVE THEREFOROct.'3l, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 23, 1955 FIG! coo cc C! CC: C)Q O O 0 0 C: Q 00 o OQQYO o 0 0 a INVENTORS ATTORNEY Oct 31, 1967 R. E.QUINN ETAL ROTATABLE DRUM AND DRAIN VALVE THEREFOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed July 23, 1965 THT! TITTT F FIG.5

FIG?

INVENTO RS BY 51/44 H.

ATTORNEY United States Patent.

3,349,582 ROTATABLE DRUNI AND DRAIN VALVE THEREFOR Richard E. Quinn,Middleton, Mass. (19 Howley St., Pea- ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSUREtherewith when the element is inflated, the screen box functioning as ascoop and the valve element with a valve housing discharging in atrailing direction.

The present invention relates to rotatable drums of the type having adrain valve in its periphery and to control means enabling the valve tobe operated while the drum is rotating.

The invention is discussed herein in connection with the dyeing ofhides. In that operation, a number of hides is placed in a drum which isthen charged with a predetermined volume of a dye. The drum is drainedafter being rotated for a predetermined interval and is then rechargedwith rinsing water. After again rotating the drum for a desired lengthof time, the rinse water is drained from the drum and the dyed hidesremoved therefrom for further processing. 7

Draining is best effected while the drum is rotating and thepresentinvention has, as its general objective, the provision of a drain valveand means for operating it while the drum is rotating to alford theadvantage, not only of saving the time that is wasted in stopping therotation of the drum whenever the valve is to be opened or closed, butalso of permitting the drain valve of each drum to be operated from aremote station where the controls for the flow of liquids, as well asthose for the drive for the drum,

are located thereby affording increased convenience to the operators andalso permitting all the controls to be accu' rately operated on anautomatic or semi-automatic basis.

In accordance with the invention this objective is attained by providinga rotatable drum with a drain port in its periphery having an outwardlyopening seat, the drum being of the type having axial shaft portionsoutwardly disposed for rotatably supporting the drum. A screen box,overlying the drain port, is attached to the interior of the drum whilea housing, attached to the exterior thereof overlies the seat andincludes a backing portion spaced outwardly therefrom. A port-closing,elasto meric valve member within the housing is marginally sealed to thebacking portion and is normally spaced from the seat. An air deliverysystem is in communication with the 'space between the valve member andthe backing portion of the housing, the system including a source of airunder pressure and a control valve therefor located remotely from thedrum and a rotatable connection carried by one of the shaft portionsaxially of the drum. With that arrangement, the ,control valve may beopened relative to the source, while the drum is rotating to deliver airunder pressure to yieldably seat the valve member thus to close theport, the control valve, when in accordance with the invention,

3,349,582 Patented Oct. 31, 1967 tion as the normal position of thevalve element.

Another objective of the invention is to provide a screen box thatfunctions as a scoop during rotation of the drum to shorten the drainagetime.

Yet another objective of the invention is to provide a rotatableconnection in the air supply system that utilizes a hollow shaft portionas its support while maintaining that shaft portion as a vent incommunication with the interior of the drum to prevent any build-up ofpressure therein.

In the accompanying drawings there is shown an embodiment of theinvention illustrative of these and other of its novel features andadvantages.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a partly sectioned front view of a drum FIGURE 2 is afragmentary section through the drum in a position in which the valve isnear the bottom,

. 7 FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the screen box,

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary section on a substantially increased scale, ofthe valve in its closed position,

FIGURE 5 is a like view showing the valve in its open position,

FIGURE 6 is a top plan view of the valve housing, and FIGURE 7 is aperspective view thereof. The drum 10, in the embodiment of theinvention illustrated by the drawings, has outwardly disposed shaft por-'tions 11 and 12 by which it may be rotatably supported by bearingsmounted on suitable standards as is conventional. The shaft portions 11and 12 are tubular and open into the interior of the drum. The shaftportion 11 is utilized to support the rotatable part 13 of the liquiddelivery system thereby to permit the drum to be charged with a liquidwhile it is rotating and is also provided with a drum rotating pulley.As the liquid delivery means and the drum rotating means areconventional, they are not shown but it is to be noted'that the drum 10rotates in the direction lof the arrows, see FIGURES -1 and 2.

It will be appreciated that such drums are of large size 'since theymust be capable of receiving a number of hides and a suitable volume ofa treating liquid. Typically, such drums are made of wood and are eightfeet in diameter and range from four to eight feet in width.

.The drum 10 is shown as having a generally indicated door 14 adapted tobe opened to permit access to its interior in loading hides into thedrum or in removing them.

'While doors of any type may be used, that shown in our co-pendingapplication filed of even date herewith is preferred for the reasons setforth therein.

As it is necessary to drain and recharge the drum 10 with liquids in thetreatment of a batch of hides, the drum 10 is provided with a drainvalve generally indicated at 15 in control of the port 16 located, inaccordance with the invention, in the periphery of the drum.

A screen box 17, secured to the inner surface of the drum 10,overliesthe port 16 while the valve 15 includes a seat 18 at the outerend of the port 16 and a housing 19 overlying the seat 18 with bothsecured to the outer surface of the drum as by bolts 20. The housing 19includes a backing portion in the form of an imperforate outer wall 19Adetachably held in place as by screws 21 and has a port 22 opening in arearward, trailing position. Within the housing 19 there is a valveelement, generally indicated at 23, and shown as consisting of a firstcylindrical section 24 having a marginal flange 25 clamped against theinner surface of the wall 19A by a clamping ring 26 anchored to the wall19A as by screws 27. The valve element 23 also includes a secondcylindrical portion 28 having a closed end wall 29 and the two sectionsare connected by a molded fold line 20 yieldably and resilientlymaintaining the second section 28 nested within the first section 24 asthe normal position of the valve element and, as will be apparent fromFIGURE 5, the closed end wall 29 thereof is normally spaced from theseat 18 to permit drum drainage.

The wall 19A has a conduit 31 opening into the space between it and thevalve element 23 and the conduit 31 has one end of an air line 32connected thereto. The other end of the air line 32 is connected to aconduit portion 33 within the tubular shaft portion 12. The conduitportion 33 connected to an air supply conduit 34 by means of aconnection 35 including a rotatable portion 35A carried by a plate 36attached to the end of the shaft portion 12 by bolts 37 extendingthrough spacers 38 thereby to provide venting ports 39 ensuring againstany pressure buildup in the drum 10. The air supply conduit 34 is incommunication with any suitable source of air under pressure, not shown,and includes a control valve 40 shown, for convenience, as manuallyoperated.

The control valve 40, when closing the air line 32 relative to thesource, opens the air line 32 to the atmosphere. When the control valve40 is open relative to the air source, air is delivered to the valve andit is operative to force the valve element 23 into engagement with itsseat 18, the air pressure being such that the escape of water from therotating drum is effectively prevented.

In practice, the valve 15 is opened while the drum is rotating so thatliquid is discharged on each rotation with the screen box preventing thehides from interfering with the draining. It will be noted that thescreen box 17 extends substantially from side-to-side of the interior ofthe drum and has its front wall 41 perforated and forwardly andoutwardly inclined to abut the inner surface of the drum. The otherwalls of the screen box are imperforate and surrounded by a flange 42secured to the inner surface of the drum. As only the leading face ofthe screen box is open, it acts as a scoop as the draining drum rotatesand is operative to shorten the drainage period.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that drums in accordance withthe present invention are well adapted to meet hide dyeing requirements.

We claim:

1. In apparatus for use in treating hides with liquids, a rotatable drumto be rotated in a predetermined direction and including axial shaftportions outwardly disposed for rotatably supporting said drum, saiddrum having a drain port in its periphery and between its ends andincluding an outwardly opening seat, a screen box attached to theinterior of the drum and overlying the drain port and opening in aleading direction, a housing overlying said seat and opening in atrailing direction, said housing including a backing portion spacedoutwardly therefrom, a port closing, elastomeric valve member withinsaid housing and marginally sealed to said backing portion and normallyspaced from said seat, and an air delivery system in communication withthe space between said valve member and said backing portion, saidsystem including a source of air under pressure and a control valvetherefor, both remote from said drum, and a rotatable connection carriedby one of said shaft portions, said system, when said valve is openrelative to said source, delivering air under pressure to said space toseat said valve member yieldably against said seat, said control valveventing said system relative to said space when closing said systemrelative to said source.

2. In apparatus for use in treating hides with liquids, a rotatable drumincluding axial shaft portions outwardly disposed for rotatablysupporting said drum, said drum having a drain port in its periphery andincluding an outwardly opening seat, a screen box attached to theinterior of the drum and overlying the drain port, a housing overlyingsaid seat and including a backing portion spaced outwardly therefrom, aport closing, elastomeric valve member within said housing and includinga first cylindrical portion with its outer end marginally sealed to saidbacking portion, a second cylindrical portion within said first portion,said second cylindrical portion including a closed end and joined at itsother end to the inner end of said first cylindrical portion by a moldedfold line resiliently but yieldably maintaining said second cylindricalportion within said first cylindrical portion, the cross sectional areaof said closed end being greater than that of said port, and an airdelivery system in communication with the space between said closed endand said backing portion, said system including a source of air underpressure and a control valve therefor, both remote from said drum, and arotatable connection carried by one of said shaft portions, said system,when said valve is open relative to said source, delivering air underpressure to said space to render said closed end convex with respect tosaid seat and to unfold said second cylindrical portion, said endportion then yieldably closing said port and returning to its foldedposition when said valve is closed with reference to said source, saidsystem then being open relative to said space.

3. In apparatus for use in treating hides with liquids, a rotatable drumincluding axial shaft portions outwardly disposed for rotatablysupporting said drum, at least one of said shaft portions being tubularand in communication with the interior of said drum, said drum having adrain port in its periphery and including an outwardly opening seat, ascreen box attached to the interior of the drum and overlying the drainport, a housing overlying said seat and including a backing portionspaced outwardly therefrom, a port closing, elastomeric valve memberwithin said housing and marginally sealed to said backing portion andnormally spaced from said seat, and an air delivery system incommunication with the space between said valve member and said backingportion, said system including a source of air under pressure, and acontrol valve therefor, both remote from said drum, a conduit extendingaxially of said shaft portion and a rotatable connection at the outerend of said hollow shaft portion, and attached in spaced relationthereto to provide a vent in communication with the interior of saiddrum, said system, when said valve is open relative to said sourcedelivering air under pressure to said space to seat said valve memberyieldably against said seat, said control valve venting said systemrelative to said space when closing said system relative to said source.

. 4. In apparatus for use in treating hides with liquids, a rotatabledrum to be rotated in a predetermined direction and including axialshaft portions outwardly disposed for rotatably supporting said drum,said drum having a drain port in its periphery and including anoutwardly opening seat, a screen box secured to the interior of the drumand overlying the drain port, said screen box including a perforated,outwardly and forwardly inclined leading wall enabling said screen boxto function as a liquid collecting scoop, a housing overlying said seat,a port closing, elastomeric valve member within said housing andnormally spaced from said seat, and an air delivery system operable toinflate said valve member to close said port when in communication withsaid valve member, said system including a source of air under pressureand a control valve therefor, both remote from said drum, and arotatable connection carried by one of said shaft portions.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 in which the screen box References Citedfriteernigj tcrfar zlslgleflsrelllyl 1 substantially for the full widthof the UNITED STATES PATENTS 6. The apparatus of claim 4 in which thescreen box 871939 Goodwin 69 30" X extends transversely substantiallyfor the full width of the 5 3,125,872 3/1964 Lumen 68 144 interior ofthe drum and has its leading Wall abutting the interior surface of thedrum and the other walls include JORDAN FRANKLIN Pr'mary Exammer'flanges secured to said interior surface. A. GUEST, Assistant Examiner.

1. IN APPARATUS FOR USE IN TREATING HIDES WITH LIQUIDS, A ROTATABLE DRUMTO BE ROTATED IN A PREDETERMINED DIRECTION AND INCLUDING AXIAL SHAFTPORTIONS OUTWARDLY DISPOSED FOR ROTATABLY SUPPORTING SAID DRUM, SAIDDRUM HAVING A DRAIN PORT IN ITS PERIPHERY AND BETWEEN ITS ENDS ANDINCLUDING AN OUTWARDLY OPENING SEAT, A SCREEN BOX ATTACHED TO THEINTERIOR OF THE DRUM AND OVERLYING THE DRAIN PORT AND OPENING IN ALEADING DIRECTION, A HOUSING OVERLYING SAID SEAT AND OPENING IN ATRAILING DIRECTION, SAID HOUSING INCLUDING A BACKING PORTION SPACEDOUTWARDLY THEREFROM, A PORT CLOSING, ELASTOMERIC VALVE MEMBER WITHINSAID HOUSING AND MARGINALLY SEALED TO SAID BACKING PORTION AND NORMALLYSPACED FROM SAID SEAT, AND AN AIR DELIVERY SYSTEM IN COMMUNICATION WITHTHE SPACE BETWEEN SAID VALVE MEMBER AND SAID BACKING PORTION, SAIDSYSTEM INCLUDING A SOURCE OF AIR UNDER PRESSURE AND A CONTROL VALVETHEREFOR, BOTH REMOTE FROM SAID DRUM, AND A ROTATABLE CONNECTION CARRIEDBY ONE OF SAID SHAFT PORTIONS, SAID SYSTEM, WHEN SAID VALVE IS OPENRELATIVE TO SAID SOURCE, DELIVERING AIR UNDER PRESSURE TO SAID SPACE TOSEAT SAID VALVE MEMBER YIELDABLY AGAINST SAID SEAT, SAID CONTROL VALVEVENTING SAID SYSTEM RELATIVE TO SAID SPACE WHEN CLOSING SAID SYSTEMRELATIVE TO SAID SOURCE.